Few games will have you laughing out loud in the first ten minutes of gameplay as often as you will in Underhero. Paper Castle Games‘ spunky indie entry has you playing a true “underhero” — a minion of the current evil baddie, suddenly thrust into a responsibility normally reserved for superheroes: that of saving the world. All spoilers aside, Underhero succeeds in some clever and rather macabre shock-value humor in just the first few minutes, setting up the mood for the rest of the title’s duration.
Gameplay is a fusion of light platforming with timing-based combat. Chat with enemies to scavenge for tips and tricks, and pay them off if you find them a little on the intimidating side. Not afraid of some measly fellow minions? Take them on with a variety of weapons, each best suited for a different monster, and defend, strike, or parry to whittle them down to the point of destruction. You and your foe each have a stamina bar which must be carefully watched and utilized in order to be the victor, and items like potions for health can be gathered as loot or purchased from merchants with coins that you collect from the world around you.
Underhero was originally inspired by entries like Paper Mario, but it immediately shakes itself free of the crowd with its original style and its seemingly endless stock of witty humor. It isn’t afraid to take favored industry tropes and flip them on their head, creating a refreshingly new experience that’ll have you snickering in no time. Underhero releases on Steam September 19 from Paper Castle Games, but you can still snag the demo now to give it an early whirl yourself.
Game Pilgrim 